


she breaks me down in style

by girlcrush (sunsmiles)



Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Fluff, Pre-Relationship, Strangers to Lovers, also there's yuta and johnny because of course there's johnny and yuta in it, rip yeri :(, swimming and track to the side, there's a 1 line mention of seulgi and irene, this is 90 percent gayness 10 percent actual plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2017-07-18
Packaged: 2018-12-03 20:57:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11540307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunsmiles/pseuds/girlcrush
Summary: “Nothing wrong to like girls, right? Especially when there could be hot girls in swimsuits looking hot."Joy really, really wants Wendy in the swimming club. Wendy kind of wants to date a girl. It works out, sorta.





	she breaks me down in style

**Author's Note:**

  * For [redsailors](https://archiveofourown.org/users/redsailors/gifts).



> HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAROLINA ♥♥♥
> 
> This is the second time I wish you a happy birthday! Last year, your fic was my introduction to jikook (and you know how that went), and this one is my thank-you for making me ult Wendy (of sorts). I know you probably thought I wouldn't giftfic you, but here I am, giving this you as a present. I'm so happy that we're friends and I wish you nothing but the best!! I love you ♥
> 
> This was supposed to be a Free! Iwatobi Swim Club AU. But it turned out to be this gay fic about two girls kind of falling in love. I did have more scenes planned, but I liked the way the scene ended, it gave a sense of closure overall. So it's just this short. Title is from Capital Cities' Swimming Pool Summer!
> 
> I hope you like it! If you want to reach me and yell at me about RV, you can reach me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/girIcrushing) or [tumblr](http://lonegoodbye.tumblr.com)!

There’s a split second when Wendy is flying. Where she’s free of gravity, her eyes taking in the bar millimeters below her. No gravity and no worry that pulls her down in the process. It feels like she can release every thought and every feeling for that moment and not worry about calculations.

Like most good things, though, it’s over too soon, and she’s on the mat. She lets out the breath she’s been holding (a bad habit), feeling freedom in her veins. The sight of the sky is both reward and punishment, thoughts flooding back to her again: Changing the entry angle to a few degrees, increasing speed, calculating the gentle breeze that tickles her nose right now.

“Not bad today,” Johnny says when she walks back to the queue. He offers her a Gatorade, smile warm but not too sticky. Wendy appreciates that. She takes a chug, grateful for how cool it is. “One more?” he asks.

She returns the bottle to him and shakes her head. It’s hot for a spring day and she fans her face with her hand. Johnny seems unbothered by the temperatures, if his relaxed posture is anything to judge by. “Mm, no, I’m fine. You?” she replies.

Johnny’s eyes light up at that. “Yeah,” he replies, leaning back. “I wanna beat Yuta today. Can’t have the transfer student beat my record.”

She laughs at that. “I’m sure you’ll be able to do it, John.”

He smirks. “I better.” He puts the Gatorade next to her and walks off to the vault, loudly declaring war on Yuta. Wendy spots Yuta laugh at that and Johnny visibly blush, though she can’t really make out what they’re saying. Looks like they’re into each other. She wonders if Johnny’s aware of it. Probably not, the way she knows him.

“Hey!” she hears somebody shout all of a sudden. She jolts and turns around. Comes face to face with one of the prettiest girl she’s seen all her life - big eyes, thin nose, mouth stretched to a wide grin. “Do you want to join the swimming club?”

Wendy just blinks for a second. She wants to pinch herself. This isn’t a dream, right? Her heart seems to remember in that moment that it exists, beating unnaturally fast. She swears the sun somehow turns brighter (even though it’s already up to eleven today). She thinks she's seen this person before. Maybe in her dreams, because no one that pretty could exist in real life.

“Listen,” Wendy says. She’s surprised she can bring out words at all right now. She takes a breath and gulps, tries to look anywhere but at the girl. Her eyes land on Johnny falling on his ass and Yuta laughing about it. “I’m in the track club right now.”

“So?”

“I’m already in a club.”

“But we need a member!” she protests. “And you’re just standing here.”

Wendy looks into her eyes this time. “Am I not allowed to take a break!” she says, shocked.

“Sure you can, but it looks boring.” She looks over to the commotion. “With all those guys.”

Feeling the girl’s gaze on her gives her goosebumps. So Wendy continues to stare at the guys. She likes them, sure, but… this wasn’t how she imagined her college life to be. With guys. That’s not what she told herself when she entered college.

“ _These are guys_ ,” the girl whispers ominously. “ _They’re nice but it’s not what I want._ ”

Wendy feels her face go very red at that. “S-stop voicing over my thoughts!” she protests.

“ _If only there was a hot girl in this club…_ ” the girl says. Wendy turns to her, shock freezing her entire body, and it makes the girl burst into laughter. “I’m just joking,” she continues. “There are plenty hot girls in the swimming club. We’re just girls there. And we need somebody to complete our team.”

Hot girls. Yes, that’s kind of what Wendy was thinking, but how--

“No need to look so shocked.” The girl has the audacity to grin. “Nothing wrong to like girls, right? Especially when there could be hot girls in swimsuits looking hot.” She laughs at that herself. “The swimsuits aren’t all that hot, but--”

Wendy thinks blinking is the most appropriate response to all this right now.

“I’m Sooyoung,” the girl introduces herself. “But you can call me Joy. Please join the swimming club.”

“I’m Wendy,” Wendy says, her throat suddenly dry. “I’m in the track club.”

Joy doesn’t reply to that, just staring intently into Wendy’s eyes. Wendy feels her body go hot at that.

“Stop flirting so much!” she hears a voice say distantly. Joy turns back.

“Yeah, I’m almost done here!” she yells and takes Wendy’s hand. “Practice is Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. At least come visit, yeah?”

Her track club has practice on the same days, Wendy wants to say, but finds herself looking into Joy’s eyes, unable to answer.

“I’ll see you then!” Joy runs off and Wendy spots three other girls standing in the distance, probably from the swimming club as well. She watches them go and takes a deep breath in. Pinches herself for good measure. Nope, that wasn’t a dream. She doesn’t know if that makes things worse or not.

“That your girlfriend?” Johnny seems to have reappeared out of nowhere and Wendy yelps once more. What’s with people and ghosting around! “She seems like your type.”

 _Hot girls in swimsuits looking hot._ She probably talked about herself. Though in Wendy’s eyes she’s already hot enough as it is. “No,” she replies finally. “She’s just from the swimming club.” She picks her bag up and the Gatorade. “Speaking of dates, will you ask Yuta out someday?”

Johnny goes so red from that that Wendy laughs, shoving Joy and swimming clubs at the far back of her mind.

 

It hits Wendy late at night when she’s tossing and turning in bed, her mind unable to shut off even when her entire body’s asleep at this point: she’s seen Joy before. In fact, even then, Joy had asked her to join the swimming club. Though back then, her voice was more business-like. Like Wendy was a stranger among many Joy wanted in her club.

It definitely was different this time. More intimate, kind of. _Hot girls in swimming suits looking hot._ That’s not something you tell every girl. Or person, period.

Wendy turns around, stuffing her face into her pillow. What is she thinking. No way that was an intimate request to join the club. She’s a potential member like everyone else. Yeah, that’s it.

She falls asleep with the mental image of Joy beaming at her, the summer sun dim compared to her smile.

 

Of course trying to shove Joy away from her thoughts doesn’t last long. She should’ve known.

She sits in the train, one arm leaning on the train window, watching trees and buildings pass. Her limbs are heavy from practice yesterday, her head still a little damp from showering so early in the morning. Grimes screams in her earphones; Wendy has long stopped trying to figure out what she’s singing. It’s not enough to distract her from the meeting one day ago. That red hair. Those doe eyes. Johnny was right; that girl - Joy - is Wendy’s type. And it’s almost enough to convince Wendy to join the club, really, except--

“Hey!” she hears again. Wendy tries not to turn to Joy’s direction. “Do you _really_ not want to join us?”

It’s easier to say no when you’re not looking at the hottest girl you’ve seen. Listening to Grimes also helps. Wendy feels Joy’s stare on her and gulps, her heart rate picking up again. At this point, she might as well drop any sports activity altogether if Joy makes her feel like she went through a marathon either way.

“Please,” Joy says, her voice drifting to a whine. Wendy kind of wants to see Joy pouting, and it takes all her willpower not to. She knows she’ll give in if she does see it. “Pretty, pretty please?”

“No,” Wendy says. From the distance, she can see the train arrive to the station and stands up. “Please excuse me.” She walks past Joy, careful not to make eye contact (she smells nice, she notices, and tries not to think too much of it) and towards the doors, taking a short breath.

“Hey, wait, that’s like, a station before--” Joy begins. Wendy doesn’t pay her attention and starts jogging along the train rails. It’s about one and a half kilometers from here to campus, which is just great for some exercise.

“I told you to wait!” she hears Joy from behind. Wait. Hasn’t the train already departed? She turns around and spots Joy, visibly out of breath (and still so beautiful). The train passes by them. Wendy blinks. Huh. She notices that her phone shuffled to some heart wrenching ballad and turns the music off.

“C’mon, why are you so mean?” Joy asks.

“I’m not mean!” Wendy protests. “How could I have known--” She decides not to bother asking that. Of course she should have known that Joy would follow and jog with her.

“Do you always jog?” Joy asks.

“Yeah, I do,” Wendy replies.

“Every day?”

“Y-yeah.” She should get a move on. “Anyways, I--”

“Can I jog with you?” Joy asks, eyes wide and sparkling. She’s so unfair to Wendy and her poor heart. “I should do it myself, too, but…”

Wendy gulps. No is what she wants to say, but she already knows the answer she’ll give. “If you can keep up, sure,” she replies and jogs ahead, her heart booming in her chest. Joy can probably hear it. This is so embarrassing.

They don’t speak for a while, the only sound the combined sound of their footsteps and the occasional rustle of the grass. Joy keeps up for a while, but eventually falls a little behind, her hitched breaths closely behind Wendy either way. Wendy can sense her body calm down and her heart not beat irrationally anymore. She takes in the scenery while running, thinking about practice later. She still isn’t at her best, and being the only girl in the club isn’t helping. There’s no one to properly compete with. That… could be alleviated with the swimming club, sure… but it doesn’t sit right with her. Not with the many medals she’s made in track and field.

She stops and turns around to Joy.

“Why do you want me to join the club?” Wendy asks.

Joy hums. “Well, I guess there isn’t really a reason,” she replies. “I wanted to ask a girl I find attractive.”

“Wha-” Wendy flushes at that and quickly turns her head around. “Is- is that the only reason?” she says. “Just that?”

“Well, not entirely…” Joy sounds so light like she didn’t just call Wendy attractive. Wendy can’t help but slightly turn back, in part to really confirm for herself that Joy’s saying this with a straight face. She’s surprised to notice that Joy has an odd gleam in her eyes. “Earlier, when I watched you practice, you looked so beautiful when you jumped!” She beams fully at that, eyes and mouth wide.

Just who is this girl and how come she’s after Wendy’s heart like this? Wendy gnaws on her lip and turns around in full. She wants to reply with some witty remark, but there’s nothing she can say.

“You know, not everyone looks as pretty as you did while pole vaulting,” Joy says. “I want you to swim as beautifully too.”

“But that’s… that’s not even the same sport.” Wendy refuses to turn this time. She doesn't even want to point out that pretty and beautiful are two different things. “How do you expect me to look beautiful while swimming way the same way I do pole vaulting?”

“The forms aren’t really that different, though,” Joy says. “And besides, I can teach you. I swim really well.”

“Talk about humble,” Wendy grumbles and continues running. Joy gasps but soon continues as well, a few steps behind her.

“Okay, fine, Seulgi-unnie does a great job too. I admit it, okay? It’s not just me.” Wendy can practically hear Joy smile. “But I know you’ll stare at me either way.” Joy’s not wrong, but Wendy wishes she was. Just so she could have something to reply to this. “Tell you what,” Joy continues. “You come to swimming practice, and I take you out to a date.”

Wendy makes a full stop. “What?” she shouts in English. She knows her face is already red as it is, but she feels herself get even more red. “How- how does this even benefit me?”

“You get to see me swimming, and I get to take you out to food.” Joy crosses her arms, her eyes playful. “That’s a win-win situation, isn’t it?”

It is, logically speaking. But this isn’t a logical situation and Wendy sees no reason why she should agree to this ever except she kind of wants to go out with Joy. She eats the inside of her cheeks.

“I hate you, but fine.”

Joy’s wide beam sort of makes it worth it, though, Wendy will admit as much.

 

So Wendy finds herself in front of the swimming club, a run-down house with cracked white paint. It’s about five minutes away from campus and ten away from her usual track place, but the way the house looks, all old and abandoned, it feels like Wendy accidentally trespassed someplace. Does she even want to walk further in?

“There you are!” she hears Joy shout. When she looks up, she notices Joy’s leaning on the door frame, her body glistening with water and… whoa. That body sure is something else (despite unflattering swimsuit, like Joy had said); Joy’s legs seem at least 3 meters long. “Come in!”

“Is this house haunted?” Wendy asks. Joy laughs loudly.

“Yes,” she says. “By me.” Of course. Wendy chuckles despite herself.

“You’re the worst.”

“Just for you.”

She walks up the stairs, which is a harder job than imagined when Joy stands there, knowing exactly what she’s doing with her pose. It makes Wendy’s knees weak like spaghetti but judging Joy’s face, she doesn’t seem to notice.

“You have a swimsuit, right?” Joy asks.

“Huh? I’m just here to watch Seulgi-ssi swim,” Wendy replies. “Not to swim myself.”

“Seulgi-unnie?” The hallway is dark, but the summer sun shining from the exit brings enough light in so it’s not completely pitch black. Wendy spots open lockers on the right side, clothes spilling out in one of them. She has a feeling that’s Joy’s. “You’re doing this on purpose, right?”

“Dunno.” Wendy puts on her biggest shit-eating grin. “I’m just telling you why I’m here.”

Joy slaps her arm playfully, faking a pout. “You’re so mean to me.”

“Just to you.”

They walk to the pools, which seems pretty lively right now; the lanes are either used or have been used before, judging by the ripples. The whole place smells of chlorine. One girl lies with a hat on her face, black parasol above her. She looks up first.

“Sooyoungie, who is that?” the girl asks, walking up to them. “Your girlfriend?”

“No no no no no no,” Wendy bursts out immediately. Joy laughs. _Not yet_ burns on her tongue. “I’m just… watching. That’s it. Seriously.”

“Oh, okay! I think I saw you in the track club before." She turns her attention to Wendy, smile polite. "I’m Joohyun, by the way, the manager of this whole team.”

“Hi, I’m Wendy.” They shake hands, Joohyun’s hand incredibly soft against hers.

“Hi, I’m bored and want to show my swimming,” Joy intercepts and pulls Wendy away. Judging by Joohyun’s laugh, this kind of thing seems to happen quite a bit. “You sure you don’t wanna see it?”

“Hundred percent.” Wendy crosses her arms, stepping aside when another girl hoists herself up.

“You might want to walk to the side,” Joy says, gently pulling Wendy aside. “You won’t bump to others that way.”

Wendy nods. Joy walks up to a lane, taking a deep breath. She somehow looks even more beautiful this serious.

“Are you going to swim?” Wendy asks.

Joy’s grin is devilish. “Do you care?”

She flushes. “N-no. Of course not.”

Joy laughs. “Okay, then close your eyes when I dive in.”

“Mhm.” She puts her hands in front of her face. “Stop stealing my lines.”

“Too bad.” Joy laughs and Wendy kind of wants to peek between her fingers already, take in the sight of Joy’s bright smile. “Okay, here I go!”

“Okay!”

Wendy peeks and when she does, she watches Joy jump, her form the most beautiful sight Wendy has ever seen. A sleek, beautiful curve.

Then it’s over in a blink, and a second passes before Joy’s back in the water, effortlessly swimming like she was secretly a mermaid. Her hands drop to the side, her mouth going ajar. She knows enough of swimming to know that Joy’s swimming stroke is the crawl, but it looks different with her compared to the Olympic swimmers on television. It’s impossible to word it, but Wendy takes it in all the same, an odd feeling blooming in her chest. So Joy wasn’t kidding when she had said she swims beautifully. Wendy thinks she might have just underrated herself, even.

“So?” somebody asks beside her. It’s the girl from before, her long brown hair damp. “Wanna swim like her, right?”

Wendy needs a whole second to peel her eyes off Joy, and then another to answer the question. “I can’t really swim, you know,” she replies, and it’s the first time she feels sad over that. Or something in the first place.

It must’ve shown on her face, because the girl laughs warmly. “No shame in not knowing, only shame in not learning,” she says. “Sooyoungie swims beautifully, but she’s not so good at the teaching thing.”

Wendy shudders at the thought. Joy teaching her would deeply distress her in the worst kind of ways.

The girl laughs. “Yeah, I know, I can’t really imagine it either, and I know her for years. I’m Seulgi, by the way.”

“Wendy,” she introduces herself. She feels her body ease around Seulgi, like some sort of antidote against how she feels with Joy. “I’m actually in the track club, but…”

“You wanna join us?” Joy shouts. Wendy doesn’t need to turn to know that she probably grins like a madman. “You’re finally going to say yes?”

“I still want that date, though,” Wendy says silently, like she could take back the words once she’s said them. Part of her wants to do that, but mostly, she feels tired of pretending like she doesn’t want to date Joy, shallow reasons or not.

Seulgi opens her eyes slightly, but it quickly shifts to an incredibly warm smile. “I’ll bring the club form application, then,” she replies, squeezes Wendy’s shoulder, and jogs into the clubroom.

“So,” Joy says. Wendy looks at her this time and is struck by how beautiful she looks, like she’s a real-life Ariel. “What did you think of my swimming?”

“It was beautiful,” Wendy hears herself say, her heartbeat racing. Joy’s eyes widen and she stares at Wendy for a while, at a loss for words. It’s sort of endearing.

“I--” Joy begins, closes her mouth, opens it again, closes it again. “Thank you,” she says, voice shaky and eyes bright.

“No,” Wendy says. It’s a wonder her voice is so steady. “Thank _you_ for showing me.”

What is she saying? It’s a dream, right? All of it. Right. That’s the only way this makes sense. Wendy’s going to wake up from this dream and realize she was just having one of her gay dreams again.

Yep.

She’s gonna wake up now.

 

Halfway through the dream (she’s 100% convinced that it’s one), she formally hands her letter of resignation to the track and field club. Mumbles something about a swimming club. Johnny’s eyes drill holes into her like he knows the real reason, and she answers with a furious blush. She should say something about Yuta. She knows that will get him all confused and flustered. But somehow, her mouth feels sewn shut.

 

Beep beep. Beep beep. Beep beep.

Wendy’s eyes flutter open, her mind still thinking about the track and field club. She groggily reaches up for her phone - isn’t it way too early for a Saturday - then checks the alarm and turns back to bed again. Nope. She’s making this up.

Wait. Hold on.

She jolts this time, reaching for her phone more frantically, eyes darting up to the time. Then back to the alarm.

“Oh fuck!” she screams so loudly that she’s sure all her neighbors heard her.

 

“What’s with you?” Joy says with a laugh. “You look like you just woke up.”

“Half an hour ago,” Wendy says. The clock reads 3 pm. “Sorry I’m so late.”

“No, don’t worry, I get it.” They’re in front of a local cafe Joy suggested (so that wasn’t a dream?), its walls a bright yellow like it was just meant for summer. “I woke up an hour ago, too, so.”

She doesn’t look that way at all; if anything, she looks like she had three beauty sleeps in a row or something. Her skin looks fresh, her eyes gleaming as always, and she smells nice, too. Like apples, kind of, the red ones Wendy likes so much.

“Why?” Wendy asks. “Couldn’t sleep?”

Joy looks down, fidgeting with the hem of her dress. “W-Well…” she begins, face blushing. The implication is so clear that Wendy can’t help but giggle.

“I get you,” she replies, feeling a little relieved. “Same here, actually.”

In truth, she spent the entire night facetiming with Johnny because _I got a date with a girl, Johnny!! In college! I don’t even know her properly! What do I do?_ Johnny, of course, did the most reasonable thing a friend could do and laughed for half an hour, wiping his tears off. _You talk like you’ve never dated a girl before,_ he says, and while he isn’t wrong, it’s still different this time. And anyways, a date when you’re seventeen doesn’t count!

“I… I see,” Joy replies, just to fill the awkward silence. They walk in together, choosing a spot at the corner with a view outside.

“You like window seats too?” Wendy asks with a smile.

“Yeah,” Joy replies. “Though out here there’s nothing.”

“Bullshit," Wendy protests, "look, there’s concrete there, and men.”

“Two of my least favorite things in the world.” They both laugh at that, and around that time, the waitress comes for their order. Wendy decides to play it safe with an iced latte macchiato, while Joy goes straight for a slice of red velvet cake.

“You can take a bite, you know,” Joy says. “Not like I really mind.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine,” Wendy replies. “I don’t like sugary things too much.”

“Good to know.” Joy grins. “I can eat all the sweets you don’t want.”

Wendy smiles as well. “You have full permission.”

“Why thank you.” She crosses her arms. “Though now it won’t be as fun.”

Wendy giggles at that. Joy’s got the brat act down way too well.

The conversation comes to a comfortable silence after that, both of them waiting for their order. When the food arrives, Joy asks her once more if Wendy wants to eat it, and Wendy declines once more. And that’s the end of the conversation. Joy eats, occasionally checking up on Wendy, and vice versa.

There are a million questions in Wendy’s mind, waiting to be said out loud, running up her arms and making her all antsy. She can tell Joy’s the same; her free hand taps an unfamiliar rhythm, her leg jittering on its own, her controlled gaze down to the cake, her little bites so the date doesn’t end. Occasionally she smiles to herself, once even chuckles, but she never tells Wendy what’s up. She steals glances at Wendy when she thinks Wendy isn’t looking, and when Wendy returns the gaze, her eyes shoot back to the cake, face as red as the coating. Wendy giggles when that happens, slurping her drink really loudly to make Joy even more nervous.

Despite them sitting in silence, her heart beats like crazy all the same. It’s not just pure attraction anymore, that much she knows.

She thinks Joy’s the same, if her faint blush is anything to go by.

 

“I had lots of fun today,” Joy says. The sky is a deep shade of blue, clear of any clouds. It’s almost like no time passed between them. “It was kind of nice, y’know, not talking and just eating.”

“Right!” Wendy agrees. “I guess I worried about talking for nothing.”

“You worry a lot about things, huh,” Joy replies. “I totally saw you get tense at first.”

“Like you didn’t tense up yourself!”

Joy laughs. “I just worried that you secretly wanted the cake either way.”

Wendy laughs as well at that. “Yeah, I did, but I couldn’t tell you.”

They walk towards the bus station, Joy heading for the seat right away, Wendy sitting down next to her. When she looks at Wendy, it’s different than normal. A little darker, a little more serious. That’s when Wendy feels things tilt to a few degrees, her entire point of gravity changing to the person in front of her.

“Do you... “ Joy asks, her gaze down, voice serious. It’s getting hard to breathe all of a sudden. “Do you want to do this again? Going out sometime?”

Wendy thinks if she isn’t careful, her heart is going to break out of her chest and fly straight next to Joy’s. That is, if it can handle this in the first place, the loud _thump, thump, thump_ reverberating through her body.

“Y-yeah,” she says and gulps. “Yeah, “she says again. “I’d love to.”

Joy looks up, lips formed to a small, genuine smile. “I’d love to, too.”

They stare at each other like this for a while. Wendy’s entire field of vision narrows down to Joy’s eyes. They seem endless and so beautiful. 

“Is this bound to a condition?” Wendy blurts out. Joy blinks in confusion. “Like, can we go on a date without me having to go to your club?”

Joy blinks again, processing the words, then starts laughing so loudly that the birds in front of them fly away. Wendy feels something twist and knot in her stomach, but it’s not uncomfortable.

“You’re already part of our club, silly,” she replies. “No more conditions.”

“So,” Wendy says. She needs to confirm this for herself or else she’ll think she’s in a dream forever. “This is because you choose to go out with me. Because you want to.”

Joy nods, eyes serious again.

“Good,” Wendy breathes out, her chest feeling lighter now that she’s heard that. “That’s good.”

“What about you?” Joy asks. “Do you want to go out on a date because you want to or because you find me that hot?”

Wendy knows she should reply right away, but she can’t lie and pretend she doesn’t find Joy hot. But she also wants to, wants to because Joy’s not just hot but also a wonderful person. Somebody she could see herself with.

“Because my friend Johnny dared me to,” she chooses to reply instead, and Joy laughs wholeheartedly at that, slapping Wendy’s arm. Wendy gives him, laughing with her, a small ache blossoming in her chest that she recognizes as love.

(Truth is: she dared Johnny to ask out Yuta today. She makes a mental note to pester him about this later.)

“By the way,” Wendy says, “I can’t really swim. Are you okay with that?”

“Of course I am,” Joy says. “Now that you’re part of the swimming team, nothing’s impossible.”

It’s so cheesy that Wendy slaps Joy’s arm, her body shaking with laughter. That’s what she gets for getting too deep about Joy.


End file.
